Richard Farris Rashid is the founder of Microsoft Research, which he created in 1991.[1] Between 1991 and 2013, as its chief research officer and director, he oversaw the worldwide operations for Microsoft Research which grew to encompass more than 850 researchers and a dozen labs around the world.[1]
Before joining Microsoft in 1991, Rashid had been the developer of the Mach kernel during his tenure as a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.[3] The Mach multiprocessor operating system kernel developed by Rashid has had a lasting influence in the design of modern operating systems, including the design of Windows NT,[4] and remains at the core of several operating systems such as NeXTSTEP, GNU Hurd, macOS, iOS, OSF/1, and Tru64 UNIX.[3]
Rashid's Mach kernel pioneered the concepts of microkernel architecture and its impact can be traced in today's computing landscape with hundreds of millions of people still using Mach based operating systems thirty years after its creation.[3] The Mach project popularized and refined concepts in virtual memory management, hardware abstraction, binary-code compatibility, and process management. These concepts advanced the state of operating systems and led to their practical and widespread adoption.[3]
Under Rashid's leadership, Microsoft Research has conducted research across various disciplines that include machine learning; multimedia and graphics, security, search, gaming, networking, artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction. His team has collaborated with the world's most prominent researchers in academia, industry and government to advance the state of computing and to help secure the future of Microsoft's products.[5]
^Mohr, Jim (December 1, 1999). "Windows NT Basics". Supporting Windows NT and 2000 Workstation and Server. Prentice Hall. ISBN978-0-13-083068-5. Retrieved January 23, 2021. The technique that Windows NT uses is called a "microkernel" and was influenced by the Mach microkernel developed at Carnegie Mellon University.
